Accountability
New Perspective – Part 3
September 17-18, 2022
Luke 19:1-10
Series Memory Verse:
“Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.” 1 John 2:6 (p.941)
“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.” Hebrews 4:13 (p.992)
- My New Perspective is to Live in Accountability.
“Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God.” Romans 14:12 (p.867)
“Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. ” Luke 19:1-3 (p.801)
This is us following Jesus: This is us joining in Jesus’ mission:
- Get a good look at Jesus ………….. Seek out those far from God
“So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way. (Jesus) ‘Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.’” Luke 19:4-5 (p.801)
“We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith…” Hebrews 12:2 (p.928)
- Quickly respond to Jesus ………………. Invest relationally in those far from God
“Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. But the people were displeased. ‘He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,’ they grumbled.” Luke 19:6-7 (p.801)
“I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.” Luke 5:32 (p.785)
- Set your priorities right …………………. Call them to repentance and salvation
“‘(Zacchaeus) I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people… I will give them back four times as much!’ ‘(Jesus)Salvation has come to this home today…For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.’” Luke 19:8–10 (p.801)
“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6:33 (p.738)
My Next Step This Week:
____ I’m focusing on following Jesus. ____ I’m focusing on joining Jesus’ mission.
1. Get a good look at Jesus ………………………….…. Seek out those far from God
2. Quickly respond to Jesus……………………………….Invest relationally in those far from God
3. Set your priorities right………………………..……….Call them to repentance and salvation
Discussion/Groups Guide
New Perspective – Part 3
“Accountability”
Life Groups use this guide in their discussion and study of the Weekend Talk. Use this also as a discussion guide with your family and friends.
Conversation Starters
- Were you ever the tallest or shortest in your group of friends or your class or team? Was that ever a good thing or a bad thing? Did you have a nickname relating to your height?
- Can you remember when you first heard the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus? What was the bit of the story which stuck in our mind?
- What is accountability? Have you ever been held accountable for something? Have you ever been given an assignment and NOT been held accountable?
Quick Review
Looking back at your Weekend Talk Notes, was there anything you heard in the service that stood out to you, challenged you, or maybe even confused you?
Discussion Starters from the Weekend Talk
Refer to the Talk Notes and Bible verses from the Talk Notes.
Our One Thing: My New Perspective is to Live in Accountability.
Series Memory Verse: 1 John 2:6 (p.941).
One Voice Bible Story Background: Luke 19:1-10 (p.801): Jesus and Zacchaeus.
- See also Hebrews 4:13 (p.992); Romans 14:12 (p.867)
- Simple but loaded question: why did no one help Zacchaeus see Jesus? Was it conscious or unconscious bias? Have you ever caught yourself doing this? How can we address our unconscious basis?
Our teaching focused on the fact that we can learn two aspects of Jesus’ encounter with Zaccheaus: That we must look to Jesus, and that we must join in His mission. Let’s discuss the story from those perspectives. The “slash” separates the complementary actions.
This is us following Jesus. / This is us joining in Jesus’ mission.
- Get a good look at Jesus / Seek out those far from God (Luke 19:4-5 (p.801); Hebrews 12:2 (p.928); Matthew 14:25-31 (p.746))
- How do you get a good look at Jesus? And how do you help someone else get a good look?
- What did Jesus do to reach out to Zacchaeus? How can we live there with people we know and want to help see Jesus (“people who may be far from God”)?
- How does Hebrews 12:2 relate to these complementary actions? What can we learn from Jesus?
- What happened to Peter when he got out of the boat?
- Quickly respond to Jesus / Invest relationally in those far from God (Luke 19:6-7 (p.801); Luke 5:32 (p.785))
- Talk about the situation surrounding a time when you have responded to Jesus. Have you always responded quickly? How have the consequences differed (if any) from a quick vs. a slow response to Jesus?
- Is it enough to simply “invest” in others? Does it matter how you invest? Who invested in you that played a role in your coming to faith in Jesus?
- Set your priorities right. / Call them to repentance and salvation. (Luke 19:8-10 (p.801); Matthew 6:33 (p.738)
- Did you experience any major changes in your lifestyle when became a Follower of Jesus? How did your priorities change? What do you still seem to struggle with?
- What does it mean to “call them to repentance and salvation? Must we stand on a street corner and yell at people to do this? How else can this happen? How helped you understand the need for this?
- Now that we’ve walked through this, do you have any further thoughts about accountability in the life of a disciple of Jesus (i.e. our lives in Jesus)?
Digging Deeper
Much of what we have talked about this week grows from a core principle of reaching others for Jesus. That is relational (or friendship) evangelism. We talked about it above as we explored “investing relationally” in others for the sake of sharing the Gospel.We take time to get alongside those who don’t know Jesus and share His love and Good News with them. This is not a one-hit-wonder, but it is a time investment. We do not know if we have a next breath, and neither do those we seek to reach. But giving time to a relationship may be costly for some, and it may not come naturally for others. But we all have non-Christian people we come into contact with. We may not have any we can call friends, but maybe that should change in light of the teaching this week. Who can you relationally invest in?
Look at the story of Paul, Luke, Silas, and Lydia in Acts 16:11-15 (845) How did the men live out Matthew 28:19-20 (p760) and intentionally invest relationally with Lydia? What lessons can you take away from it that you can use in your own relationships with people who are far from God?
My Next Step This Week:
______ I’m focusing on following Jesus. ____ I’m focusing on joining in Jesus’ mission.
- Get a good look at Jesus. / Seek out those far from God.
- Quickly respond to Jesus. / Invest relationally in those far from God.
- Set your priorities right. / Call them to repentance and salvation.
This Week’s Life Transformation Bible Daily Reading: Accountability (p.A84-85)